[pct-l] Time

[Diane Soini of Santa Barbara Hikes]

I am going to go ahead and just say it: No, it is not possible to  
hike 45 miles a day with no zeros in order to complete the hike in 2  
months. Of those who have come close, most already know the trail and  
spend their lives alternating between hiking the trail and working  
out for hiking the trail. Basically, if you have to ask if it's  
possible to hike 2663 miles in 2 months you aren't someone who can do  
it.

It is worth quitting your job -- if you know the risks. A thru hike  
is not always a resume enhancer. Many companies see it as evidence  
you were disloyal to the system, not focused on your career. It may  
be a career ender in more ways than one.

There is a risk that hiking 2663 miles will change you enough you  
don't care about careers anymore. It's not a bad idea to have back-up  
plans in the back of your mind. Are you willing to live on minimum  
wage jobs? Are you willing to change careers? In this economy, are  
you willing and able to be unemployed without benefits? (It is okay  
to answer yes, by the way. We have been very conditioned to fear  
those things at all costs.)

The "two months and see how far you can go" option is a good one. I  
hiked three months at a time two years in a row with part-time jobs  
in between to do my hike.  I had every bit as much of a fantastic,  
thru-hiking adventure as anyone, just without the thru-hike. Plus, my  
adventure wasn't a one-shot deal. I got to be part of trail life two  
years in a row. I did a little bit more the third year, too, so I was  
actually a part of three years. Maybe I will do more this year and be  
part of a fourth. See? This is how the trail destroys you. It becomes  
life itself and all the rest of this BS is just waiting for life.

(About me: I quit my high pay, dot-com, corporate job, and then the  
trail experience made me quit my career even though I am still doing  
the same kind of work and even taking classes to enhance my skills.  
I'm not careerist, though, and see all of it as "looking busy" and  
"paying the bills" and "keeping doors open" until I can get on the  
PCT again.)

Diane
On Jan 7, 2011, at 12:11 AM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:
> Hello fellow PCTers!  I'm supper psyched about tentatively through  
> hiking the PCT next April 2012. I mentioned plans to hike this an  
> need for 4.5 months off. At the time he said no problem. I recently  
> brought this subject up to check with him and he was shocked by the  
> required time needed.  Is it possible to hike 45 miles a day with  
> no zeros in order to complete the hike in 2 months OR do most agree  
> this adventure is worth quitting their job for?  I want to embark  
> on this amazing adventure sooo badly!
> If I had done this right, I would have timed this hike in between  
> jobs back in 2008!
>
> Mike